They Were Schoolboys
by angelofmusic1989
Summary: The story of the barricades, told from the perspective of the Army General of the National Guard.
1. Chapter 1

"Gabriel." Gabriel Dejardin felt someone shaking his shoulder gently. "Gabriel, wake up. You'll be late."

He opened his eyes to find his wife's gentle green eyes looking back at him. He smiled at her and sat up. "What time is it?"

"Seven o'clock. You've got just enough time for a quick shave and breakfast, and then it's off to work with you." She ran a finger along the end of his mustache. "Maybe you could consider shaving that thing off your face."

"Never." He lay back on the pillows and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, I wish it were Sunday."

"You say that every day except Sunday. And on Sundays you complain that you wish it were any other day so you wouldn't have to go to church. Now come on! How do you expect to feed this family by being a lay-about?"

He knew she had said it in jest. He got out of the bed and hugged her from behind. "Good morning, Madame Dejardin."

"Good morning." She turned around and stroked his cheek, and then kissed it and left him to dress. He looked at himself in the mirror. He needed a shave. He set to work on preparing the soap and brushing it on his face. As he sharpened his razor, he heard his children running down the stairs.

"Mama! Tell Victor to stop chasing me!" Amélie screamed.

"That's enough, both of you! You're scaring the baby!" As if on cue, little Madeleine started to wail. Gabriel smiled. They were loud. They were excitable. And they were his.

When he finished shaving, he cleaned up and went downstairs. When he sat down, Amélie climbed into his lap. "Good morning, Papa."

"Good morning, my angel. How are we this morning?" He reached over and took the baby's hand.

"Very well, thank you. You look rather handsome."

"Thank you. Victor, are you ready for school?"

"Yes, Papa." The eight-year-old didn't look enthused. Madame Dejardin came into the breakfast room. She put a loaf of bread on the table and sat down.

"Everyone ready?" They crossed themselves and Gabriel prayed over the meal. When he finished, he took the knife and started to slice the bread. "You look tired, Gabriel. Did you get enough sleep?"

"Yes, thank you."

"I feel as though you've looked tired a lot lately."

"I'm just fine." He took a last bite of bread and stood. "I have to go."

She stood and followed her husband to the foyer. She helped him on with his jacket. "Are you certain you're alright?"

"Mercédes, I wish you wouldn't worry about me so. I must go to work. I'll be home on time." He kissed her cheek and walked out the door. She pulled him back by his sleeve and kissed him fully. "What was that for?"

"Just because I love you." He smiled at her and kissed her again.


	2. Chapter 2

When Gabriel reached his office, he sat down and started to read the post. There was a letter that looked very important, from the desk of Inspector Javert in Saint-Michel. Gabriel opened it, and it read:

To the Army General of the National Guard, Paris:

There are students here from the university, teeming to form a rebellion. Your assistance is not needed yet, but I would very much like to know that I have your support if need be. Please respond as soon as you are able.

Regards,

Ins. Javert

Gabriel took up his pen and scrawled an answer:

To Inspector Javert, Saint-Michel:

You have my support. Please send word when the time arises, and my troops and I shall be at your side.

General Gabriel Dejardin

Students. He wagered that he knew a few of them. He had grown up in Saint-Michel, a small slum neighborhood just outside Paris, and had wanted to attend the university, same as the other boys. But his father would have none of it.

_"You will do as I say, Gabriel! I am your father!"_

_"You are my father, not my warden! You can't control me! You can't force me into the National Guard!"_

_"I can. And I will. If you go to university, I refuse to pay for it. You will have no support from me, and your mother will never see you again!"_

_"Frederic!"_

_"Be quiet, Victoire! Do I make myself clear, sir?"_

_"Crystal."_

_"Good."_

Frederic Dejardin was a career military man, and had high hopes for his son to reach a rank beyond his own. He did. Gabriel was the youngest man to ever hold the office of General in Paris. It was something he would have scoffed at when he was a younger man, but now he was proud of himself.

He posted the letter to Inspector Javert. He would be there...he would be there to fight against those he had once been a friend to.


	3. Chapter 3

When Gabriel returned home that evening, his children were waiting for him at the window. He had been worried all day about the reply he had sent to Saint-Michel, and when he saw the warm candlelight from his house glowing in the chilly evening, he couldn't help but smile. He waved at Amélie and Victor, and they ran to open the front door.

"Papa!"

"Hello, my darlings. Have you behaved for your mother today?" He took off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack.

"Yes, Papa."

"Good." They held his arms tightly and he swung them forward until they got to the parlor, where Mercédes was sewing. Madeleine slept in her bassinet next to the chair. "Hello."

"Hello." She leaned her face up for a kiss. He gave it and then sat down. She could tell he wanted to talk about something. "Children, go up and get ready for bed, please."

"But Mama! Papa just got home!"

"Children, listen to your mother. Go up and we'll be there to tuck you in later."

"Yes, Papa." They kissed each of their parents and ran up the stairs.

"Why do they listen to you the first time? What is this power that you have over them?"

"I don't know." He slumped in the chair and rubbed his eyes.

Mercédes put her sewing down and crossed to him, sitting on his lap. She stroked his hair and kissed him on the forehead. "What is it, my love?"

"I'm all right. Just...just tired."

"Are you sure? You can tell me what's on your mind. It's what I'm here for."

Gabriel sighed. He picked up one of her long, honey-colored curls and twirled it around his finger. "I just...I might have to go to Saint-Michel soon."

"Would that be so bad?"

"Yes. If I go, it'll be to quell a rebellion among the students there."

"Students? From the university?"

"Yes. And we'll be ordered to fire upon them. My friends. I know that some of them will be my friends."

"It won't come to that. Will it?"

"I don't know." He leaned his head on her shoulder. "I don't know."

He sat like that for a long time. He wrapped his arms tightly around Mercédes, and she understood that he didn't want to let go yet. When they heard the baby stir, they separated.

"I suppose we should go up. I can do it, if you just want to go to bed."

"No, I want to tuck them in." Gabriel picked Madeleine up out of her bassinet. He kissed the baby's blonde curls and followed his wife up the stairs. Victor and Amélie were jumping on the beds.

"Alright, that's enough. It's time for sleeping." They stopped jumping and each settled into their beds. Gabriel started with Victor, and Mercédes with Amélie.

"Papa, will you sing us a song?"

"I'm sure that your mother would be willing to-"

"We want you!"

Mercédes smiled at him, took the baby, and left the room. Gabriel sat down on the edge of Amélie's bed and began to sing.

Dodo, l'enfant do,

L'enfant dormira bien vite

Dodo, l'enfant do

L'enfant dormira bientot

Une poule blanche

Est là dans la grange.

Qui va faire un petit coco*

Pour l'enfant qui va fair' dodo.

Dodo, l'enfant do,

L'enfant dormira bien vite

Dodo, l'enfant do

L'enfant dormira bientôt.

Tout le monde est sage

Dans le voisinage

Il est l'heure d'aller dormir

Le sommeil va bientôt venir.

They were asleep by the time he finished. He kissed them both gently, and then left the room. Mercédes was listening at the door, after having put Madeleine to bed in the nursery.

"You almost put me to sleep."

They walked hand in hand to their bedroom. After they changed into their nightclothes, Mercédes sat at the vanity, brushing her hair. Gabriel put his hands on her shoulders. "I love you, you know."

"I know." She put her hand over his. "I love you, too."

"How did a man like me end up with a woman like you?" He knelt in front of her chair and put his head in her lap. She stroked his hair.

"I don't know. You probably did something wicked when you were a boy, and are serving out your punishment."

"No. I remember the first time I saw you. You were a vision. An angel."

_"Gabriel! Come along, we'll be late!" Gabriel's mother called out to her son, who was dawdling behind his parents. He did not know the couple whose wedding he was being forced to attend. But the groom was a cousin to his mother, and it was an excuse to take a trip to Paris. Gabriel had wanted to live here since he was a little boy. But his father would never stand for abandoning Saint-Michel._

_"Hurry up, Mercédes!" A young woman was being rushed along to cross the street towards the Dejardin family. She was beautiful. Hair that was the exact red-gold as wild honey, skin like porcelain, and eyes as big and as green as two sparkling emeralds. She gave a short glance towards him when they all reached the church and stood in line to enter. He wished to say hello to her, but was pulled away by his mother to sit in their seats._

"I couldn't wait to speak to you. To learn your name."

"Me either. I thought you were as handsome as anything. You didn't have a mustache then," she laughed, touching the feature. "And my mother was scandalized. I had suitors. Gentlemen and diplomats from Paris. But I chose to dance with a boy from Saint-Michel."


	4. Chapter 4

A few days later, Gabriel was sitting at his desk when a lieutenant burst in with an urgent message.

"Sir, I have news."

"What is it?"

The young lieutenant looked anxious, as if he was afraid of what Gabriel would say. He shuffled his feet a bit before finally saying, "General Lamarque is dead."

"He is."

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I shall tend to this matter immediately."

The soldier saluted and left. Gabriel sat down and put his head in his hands. Lamarque was the speaker for the poor and destitute of France. This would surely be the catalyst for any sort of uprising from the students.

That night, Gabriel told Mercedes the news. The funeral was two days away, and he would have to ride in the procession.

"I want you to stay home with the children. Lock the doors. Don't unlock them until I get home. No matter what you hear. Do you understand me?"

"Yes."

The next day, the day before the funeral, Gabriel instructed his troops on what they were to do in case the uprising did happen. He went home early. And when he got there, he sent the children to bed directly after supper.

"Papa, will you be home tomorrow?"

"I'll be here when you wake up. I don't know if I'll be home after work."

"Why?"

He looked at Mercédes to try to find the words.

"Papa has some very important business to take care of tomorrow."

"What kind of business?"

"No more questions, Amélie." He kissed his daughter on the head. "Good night."

"Good night, Papa. I love you."

"I love you too, children."

He blew out the candles and closed the door. He leaned in to kiss Mercédes, but the baby woke up.

"She must be hungry. I'll only be a minute."

"I'll come with you." They went to the nursery, and Mercédes began to nurse Madeleine. As Gabriel watched her, sitting there in the rocker he had bought for her when they learned that Victor was on the way, feeding their child, he couldn't help but let a few tears roll down his cheeks. He thought about when Madeleine came into the world, and how he had almost lost both of them.

_"Gabriel? I think it's time." Mercédes was shaking him awake, and then grasped his arm when a wave of pain hit her. Gabriel sat straight up and put his hand on her back._

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Yes. Please go and get the midwife."_

_He flew out of the bed and got just dressed enough to look decent on the streets. He ran from the house and got Chanel, the midwife._

_"How long have you been hurting, Mercédes?"_

_"A couple of hours."_

_Chanel looked over Mercédes, and when she was finished, she looked worried. "General Dejardin, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to step outside."_

_"What? Why? What's the matter?"_

_"Please, leave the room."_

_"Tell me what's wrong!"_

_"My love," Mercédes spoke barely above a whisper. Some of her hair had come loose from its braid and was matted to her forehead with sweat. "Please do as she says. Go and sit with the children."_

_He crossed to his wife and held her hand. "I'll just be outside." He kissed her white knuckles and damp forehead. When he reached the door, he took one last look at her and went out to sit on the floor in the hall. For the next four hours, it was silent, save a few wails. He wished the the wails would go on, because every time the room was silent, he worried that he had lost her. The other children woke up at dawn._

_"Papa? What is the matter?"_

_Gabriel looked up through tired and tearstained eyes at Amélie and Victor. He pulled the little girl onto his lap and Victor sat on the floor beside him. "Mama is having the baby."_

_"Why are you sad?" Amélie put her tiny hands on either side of his face._

_"Because, my angel. Mama is very sick."_

_"Sick?" Victor said._

_"Yes."_

_"Would she feel better if we sang to her? That always makes me feel better when I'm sick."_

_Gabriel looked at his son, and smiled the best he could. He hugged his children close to him. "I don't think so, son. Maybe when we can go in and see her. But for now, why don't you go back to your room and play for awhile?"_

_They did so. A scream came from the room. He heard Chanel telling Mercédes to push. The screams coming from his wife made Gabriel sick. Finally, he heard the sound of a weak babe crying. Chanel came out into the hall, bloodied sheets in her hands. Gabriel was up in a second._

_"How is she?"_

_"She's...she's asking for you."_

_Realization hit him. "No."_

_"Nothing is for certain. But she lost a lot of blood. The babe is weak as well; water on her little lungs." Chanel looked down at the sheets in her hands and hurried down the stairs. Gabriel screwed his courage to the sticking place and walked into the bedroom. Mercédes was holding the baby, but she didn't seem completely conscious._

_"Mercédes?" He called out, but his voice wouldn't work properly. He walked over to the bed. She looked up at him, her eyes fluttering for a moment, and then down at the baby._

_"It's a girl. I'm sorry."_

_"What are you sorry for? She's beautiful."_

_"You wanted another boy."_

_"No. I love her. What shall we call her?"_

_"The midwife said it doesn't matter." Sobs emitted from Mercédes' white lips._

_"It does matter. She's going to live and so are you." He leaned down and kissed his wife, and then kissed the baby's forehead. "What shall we name her?"_

_"Madeleine."_

_"Madeleine Dejardin. Hello, Madeleine." The baby was bluish, but she was awake. She began to cry. "I think she's hungry."_

_"I..." Mercédes slipped out of consciousness. Chanel had fetched the doctor, and he came to examine her._

_"She is very weak. She is young; she might pull through. But she needs to rest. And you must take care of the baby yourself, for as long as..." He trailed off._

_"She will live. My wife and my daughter will live a long time, Doctor."_

Gabriel thought back on that day often, and the miracle that was bestowed on him. Against all odds, Mercédes had come through, and so had Madeleine. He walked over to the rocker and stroked the little girl's hair. "Have I told you how grateful I am to you?"

"For what?"

"For this. For our three babies. For the life we've built together. For taking a chance on me, instead of marrying one of your millionaires."

"They weren't _my_ millionaires." She smiled and put Madeleine back in the bassinet. Gabriel hugged her. She hugged back, and when she tried to let go, he wouldn't. "What is it, my love?"

"I'm afraid I won't come back tomorrow." He buried his face in her neck.

"You will." She pulled away to look at his face. "You're coming back to me and your children. Do you understand?"

He nodded, and she took him in her arms again, grasping at the hair on the back of his head. His fingers dug into her back. "I need you, Mercédes."


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter is told from Mercédes' perspective at first and then kind of fades into Gabriel's perspective.**

The sun was streaming into the room, but Mercédes didn't want to wake up yet. She could feel Gabriel's chest rising and falling under her cheek. She wanted him to stay there, with her. Because no matter what she had told him the night before, she was afraid that once he walked out the door that morning, he would never come home.

A smile came to her face when she thought about the night before. He had been so gentle with her, and both of them were filled with emotion. They knew that it might be the last time. After, they just held each other. Not speaking. Just breathing.

Mercédes felt Gabriel stirring. She tilted her face up towards him, and he kissed the tip of her nose. "Good morning."

"Good morning. How do you feel this morning?"

"Rested. How are you?"

"It doesn't matter." She kissed his jaw and slipped out of bed, taking the sheet with her and wrapping it around herself. He smiled at her.

"What time is it?"

"Six. You've still got time to sleep, if you want."

"No. I don't want to miss a minute with you today."

"Alright." She got dressed and laid out his uniform for him. "Stop staring."

"I can't. You're beautiful."

She smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. She rested her hands on his bare chest. "I love you. You know that?"

"Yes."

"Good." She went to her jewelry box and got out one of her chains. She slipped her wedding ring off of her finger and put it on the chain, and then returned to the edge of the bed. "Sit up."

He did so. She put the chain around his neck and clasped it. "I'll be with you today. If you feel like you can't hold on, hold on to this."

He held it in his fist, and looked at her seriously. "I love you. You know that?"

"Yes." He kissed her, and she leaned into it. She pulled away too quickly for him. "Now, get up and get dressed. I'm going to feed you a good breakfast before you leave."

"Yes, ma'am." He got up and put on his uniform. She straightened his cravat and brushed his coat after he put it on. He took her hands and held them to his chest, closing his eyes. She smiled.

"You'll be alright, my sweet one. You will."

They went downstairs so that she could prepare breakfast. The children came down and sat with Gabriel, as they did every morning. He was holding Madeleine in his lap and marveling at her every feature. The blonde hair that she had inherited from her mother, his blue eyes, her tiny hands and feet.

He would miss it dreadfully if he didn't get to see her grow up.

Breakfast went too quickly, and before he knew it, it was time to say goodbye. He stood up and went to the foyer. He hugged each of his children for as long as he could. Kissed them on the head. And embraced his wife so tightly that they almost became one person. He kissed her neck and her lips, and then brushed away her tears with his thumbs.

"What's this? Tears from my brave one?"

"Yes." She buried her face in his jacket. "Come home to me. Will you?"

"I promise." He kissed her on top of the head, and then turned to go. He turned back. "Remember what I told you? Lock the doors and windows. Don't open them for any reason. And don't wait up for me, even though I know you will."

She nodded and took Amélie and Victor by the hands.

Gabriel gathered up all of his resolve and turned away from his family. He heard the door lock, but knew they were watching from the windows. He mounted his horse that his regiment had brought for him and led them all to Sent-Sever, where Lamarque's cortege would begin at his home. The casket was already on the carriage. They were lined up, and ready to go. They marched through the streets of Sent-Sever, to Place Vendôme, and on to the Place de Bastille. When they marched along the Seine, the horses started to get nervous. Gabriel heard quiet voices singing.

**Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men.**

**It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again.**

**When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums,**

**There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes.**

The men pulled back to surround the carriage more carefully. The crowd kept singing.

**Will you join in our crusade, who will be strong and stand with me?**

**Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?**

A blonde haired man took a flag and started to wave it. He and a young redhead climbed Lamarque's carriage.

**Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free!**

**Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men. **

**It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again.**

**When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums,**

**There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes.**

When Gabriel turned around, he realized that he recognized the now three students who had climbed aboard the carriage. Alain Grantaire, Marius Pontmercy, and Sébastien Enjolras stood at the ready with guns aimed. They rode the carriage all the way to Place de Bastille. The people crowded the street so that the procession had to stop.

**Will you give all you can give so that our banner may advance?**

**Some will fall and some will live, will you stand up and take your chance?**

**The blood of the martyrs will water the meadows of France!**

**Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men!**

**It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!**

**When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums,**

**There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!**

Everything was silent. Gabriel gave a wordless command for his troops to form a line. A single shot rang out from somewhere behind him.

"She was an innocent woman!" One of the students yelled, holding an old lady who had been hit by the ball. She fell to the ground, dead. Suddenly, shots were being fired everywhere. The students beat a fast retreat into the streets of Paris. Gabriel gave the order to follow them. They were building a barricade out of furniture that people were throwing down from their windows. Gabriel ran faster. They built the thing before the soldiers and police officers could get to them. Inspector Javert had a plan. He was dressed as one of them, and he had gotten inside the barricade. He would pretend to go out as a spy and then go back and feed them false information. All there was to do now was wait.


	6. Chapter 6

It was dark out. The torches were lit. Gabriel finally asked, "Who's there?"

"French revolution!" Enjolras answered.

Gabriel sighed and returned to his post. He knew this man. He had been a student with him. Enjolras was only a couple of years younger than Gabriel, and had once been a suitor for his sister, Serena. But he had given up on that life and taken on Patria as his new bride. Gabriel still remembered the conversation.

_"You're leaving my sister?"_

_"I must. With France in its current state, I can think of nothing but bringing it back up to its feet. I can do nothing until it is under the control of the people."_

_"She will be heartbroken. And you will be a traitor."_

_"A traitor to whom? To France, or to its leaders? How can you, who was forced into the National Guard by your own father, you, who wanted to go to university, but were not free to do so, stand there and talk of treason?"_

_"Enjolras, I beg you to reconsider."_

_"I can't." The young man took his books and left._

Gabriel had wished more than anything on that day that he himself could have dropped everything and gone with Enjolras and Les Amis de ABC. But he had a family. And his family depended on him to uphold the law.

"You at the barricade listen to this! No one is coming to help you to fight! You're on your own. You have no friends! Give up your guns or die!"

He heard them shouting.

"Damn their warnings! Damn their lies! They will see the people rise."

And he knew his worst nightmare was going to come true. He or Enjolras, or perhaps both, would die before this was over.


	7. Chapter 7

Gabriel and Lieutenant Bellard had the first watch. The others went to sleep, and Gabriel looked up to see Enjolras at the balcony of a building behind the barricade. He was looking directly at him, and then made a motion with his head. He wanted to talk.

"Bellard, wake Toussaint and tell him to watch with you. I have business to take care of."

"But sir..."

"Do as I say." Gabriel climbed up the barricade. The students made to strike, but Enjolras yelled out.

"Let him pass!"

The young men looked at him with menace, but let him through. He climbed the stairs to the upper room. Enjolras stood near the window.

"I assume you want to speak to me," Gabriel said. He kept the posture of a general. Now that he saw the other man up close, he could see that the burden behind his eyes was very great.

"Yes. I want you and your men to withdraw from this fight."

"We will do no such thing. What makes you think that you can defeat us?"

"What makes you think that you can defeat Patria? There are other barricades. Other cities. The people of Paris will come to our aid."

"The people of Paris will do no such thing. Mark my words, Enjolras, they will not come and help you."

"Have you no faith in your country, Dejardin?"

"I do. That is why I'm fighting for it."

"You are fighting for tyrants and gluttons."

"You will die! You will all die unless you withdraw. Abandon your weapons and flee."

"And be named coward for all the revolution? No."

"Then you will perish. And your precious Patria with you. We will hold fire until the first shot. I cannot say the same for the police. I beg you to reconsider, Enjolras."

"I will not."

"God have mercy on you." Gabriel left the room. He couldn't stand to be here.


	8. Chapter 8

In the morning, Inspector Javert waited a couple of hours before he climbed back over the barricade. It was a long time before they heard anything, but Javert was taken hostage and didn't return. Gunfire ensued. Gabriel aimed his gun and fired. Someone was about to shoot Pontmercy. Another boy stepped in front of him and took the shot through his hand and his abdomen. Pontmercy took a barrel of powder and a torch and ran up the barricade.

"Back all of you! Or I'll blow it to pieces!"

Gabriel didn't back down. "Blow it up and yourself with it!"

Pontmercy looked from the boy to the troops. "And myself with it."

Gabriel thought for a moment, and then conceded. "Back. Get back."

Pontmercy went back down the barricade and held the boy in his lap. Only it wasn't a boy. It was a young girl in disguise. She died. Gabriel felt sick.

There were bodies everywhere. Mostly officers, some revolutionaries. A small boy climbed over the barricade. He was taunting the officers, and they were taking warning shots at him.

"You there. Hold your fire," Gabriel said. The boy reminded him of Victor. He couldn't have been much older. Gabriel wondered what on earth he was doing there.

The soldiers took another shot, wounding the boy.

"I gave you an order!"

"He's taking the ammunition back to the others, sir."

"He's only a boy." As soon as Gabriel turned his back, another shot rang out. He turned, and immediately felt his heart drop. The boy was lying there, eyes open and glassy. Gabriel returned to the soldier and grabbed him by the collar. "You defied a direct order! You are discharged!"

A student came to retrieve the body of the small boy. Gabriel pushed the officer away from him and watched. The student wept over the boy.

Gabriel struggled to get out his next words. He had to confirm what he had told Enjolras last night.

"You at the barricade listen to this. The people of Paris sleep in their beds. You have no chance, no chance at all. Why throw your lives away?"

He heard the response.

"Let others rise to take our place until the earth is free!"

Gabriel couldn't hold off any longer.

"Cannons! Quick as you can, cannons!" The students fired the first shots. Pontmercy was shot in the arm. The soldiers broke down the barricade, and the students ran, banging on doors for the people to let them in. They would not. The National Guard and police officers fired on all of them, killing everyone in their path. Something came over Gabriel, and he knew it was his duty to finish this. He directed some of his men to follow him into the Cafe Mussain. Some students were hiding on the second floor. They shot into the ceiling and heard bodies thudding as they fell. Gabriel ran up the stairs, followed by the troops. Enjolras was there, amongst the dead bodies of his friends. Gabriel looked right into the eyes of the young man. And the look that Enjolras returned seemed to say, _"Go ahead and kill me. But Patria lives on."_

Gabriel was angry. He raised his gun to shoot, but something moved in the corner. Grantaire. He woke up from a drunken stupor and stood next to Enjolras. Gabriel knew what he had to do. They all opened fire on the two. Grantaire fell to the ground, and Enjolras hung out the window by his feet, pierced by no less than eight bullets, and still holding the revolution banner.

He had done it.

Gabriel had killed his friend.


	9. Chapter 9

Gabriel stepped back. He looked at the gun in his hand. He didn't notice that he himself had been scathed on his right cheek. He just saw feet hanging from the window. He stood there with his men behind him for what seemed like hours.

"What have I done? Sweet Jesus, what have I done?" He thought. He halted the company. The students were dead. He crossed himself.

"Sir, you're hit."

He reached up and touched his cheek, where he could feel the pain of the bullet now. But it wasn't anything. He turned around and stumbled back down the stairs. The police were lining up the bodies of the boys. The small boy and young girl were laying side by side. Gabriel saw inspector Javert look at the boy, crouch down, and put one of the medals from his jacket onto the body. Gabriel walked over and stood next to him.

"Do you have children, General Dejardin?"

"Three."

"How old?"

"I've got a boy about his age." Here, tears choked his words. "And two daughters. Five and six months."

"We did right today here, General. It is a shame that these sorts of..."he gestured to the boy "...casualties were taken. But these students were outside the law. And it is our duty to uphold the law. Is it not?"

The inspector looked like he was waiting more for reassurance than for agreement.

"It is our duty to uphold the law." He felt his facade starting to crumble. He felt beneath his jacket for Mercédes' ring. He found it, and put his hand over it. "My men and I are leaving."

"Yes." Javert had stopped paying attention. Gabriel turned and stepped in a puddle. When he looked down, he saw that the puddle was mixed with blood. The whole ground was red. Women had shown up with rags and water to mop it up.

**_Did you see them going off to fight? _**

**_Children of the barricade who didn't last the night._**

A young woman knelt beside the body of a young man in the line of bodies and sobbed.

_'Oh God! What have I done?'_

**_Did you see them lying where they died?_**

Gabriel recognized Enjolras' mother, mopping up the blood under her son's body, which was still hanging from the window.

**_Someone used to cradle them and kiss them when they cried._**

**_Did you see them lying side by side?_**

He turned away, and there were more women. A young girl held her mother's hand.

**_Who will wake them?_**

**_No one ever will._**

**_No one ever told them that a summer day can kill._**

One of the women looked directly at Gabriel, with hate in her eyes, and then looked away to mop up more blood.

**_They were schoolboys, never held a gun._**

**_Fighting for a new world that would rise up like the sun._**

The young woman sobbed into the dead man's chest.

**_Where's that new world now the fighting's done?_**

Gabriel stumbled down the street. Everywhere he turned, there was more blood, more burnt powder. More mothers. More sisters. More lovers.

**_Nothing changes, nothing ever will. _**

**_Every year another brat, another mouth to fill._**

These were the people that Enjolras meant to save.

**_Same old story, what's the use of tears?_**

**_What's the use of praying if there's nobody who hears?_**

**_Turning, turning, turning turning turning through the years._**

Gabriel began to run down the street. He wanted to cover his ears and yell so he couldn't hear the women. But he kept running.

**_Turning, turning, turning through the years._**

**_Minutes into hours and the hours into years._**

**_Nothing changes, nothing ever can_**

**_Round and round the roundabout and back where you began._**

**_Round and round and back where you began!_**


	10. Chapter 10

Gabriel wandered the streets of Paris for hours. He couldn't go home. Not yet. He couldn't face his family after killing the families of so many others.

He walked along the river. He wept, without caring who saw. He prayed. He needed absolution. He knew that he had done the right thing according to the law. But he couldn't get the faces of those boys out of his mind.

He finally ended up on his street. The steps to the front door seemed so tall. He stumbled up them and stood, not able to open the door.

He knew that his wife and babies were inside. He didn't know how to face them.


	11. Chapter 11

Mercedes kept looking at the clock on the mantle. She tried to concentrate on her sewing. But he had been gone for almost two days.

The children had long since gone to bed. She was exhausted from sitting up the night before as well, but she couldn't sleep.

Not without him beside her.

She looked at the clock again. One-thirty in the morning. She put her sewing down and stood up to go and look out the window. She saw no one on the street, but when she looked towards the door, she could swear she saw movement. She closed the curtain and opened the window seat, where Gabriel had stored a revolver for emergencies. She hid it behind her back and went to the front door.

When Mercédes looked out the small window in the door, she gasped and put the gun on the hall table. She opened the door.

"Gabriel! Oh, my sweet love!" He gathered her in his arms and held her tightly, and never wanted to let go. He sobbed into her shoulder. She kissed his forehead, his cheeks, his lips, and buried her face in his neck. "Oh, God, thank you!"

She led him into the house and sat him down in his chair. She knelt in front of him "What happened?"

"They..." He couldn't speak.

Mercédes took off his hat and his jacket and set them aside. She pulled off his boots and socks. "I'm going to go and get some water to clean you up."

Gabriel looked down at his hands. They were covered in blood and soot and gunpowder. When he looked in the mirror, he saw that his face was the same. Mercédes left and came back with a bowl of hot water, some rags, and a bottle of alcohol. She helped him to roll up his sleeves and undo his cravat, and then she began to wash it all away. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Couldn't get the memory of the young woman sobbing into the dead man's chest out of his head. When she was finished cleaning the wound on his face, she stood, and he sank to the floor, wrapping his arms around her middle. Mercédes brushed her fingers through his damp hair. He couldn't stop crying.

Finally, she knelt down and took his face in her hands. "What happened?"

He proceeded to tell her everything. The funeral. The song. The young girl and boy. Enjolras. The women. She pulled him forward and he pushed his face against her shoulder. He wanted everything else to go away. He only wanted what was in this house to be real.

He heard stirring upstairs. He knew that the children were up. He stood and bounded up to their room.

"Papa!" They flew off of their beds and into his arms. He sat on the floor and cradled and kissed them. "We thought you weren't coming home!"

"I'm home. Oh, my sweet babies, I'm home. I'm here. I love you so much."

Mercédes fetched Madeleine from the nursery. She handed the baby over to her father. He hugged her close to his chest.

"What's the matter, Papa?" Victor said.

"Children, get back into bed, alright? Tomorrow is Sunday, and you and Papa can spend as much time together as you want. But right now, it's time for sleep." She kissed them each while Gabriel still cried over Madeleine. They took the baby back to the nursery and put her back to bed. And then Gabriel pulled Mercédes into their bedroom.

Hours later, Mercédes lay against Gabriel's shoulder. She sat up and stroked his face where the bullet had scathed him.

"What happened here?"

"I don't know when it happened. I didn't notice it until someone said something." He was staring into space. She turned his face toward her.

"Sleep now, my love. You look so weary."

"I can't. Every time I close my eyes, I see Enjolras hanging out of that window. I see that woman crying over her husband. I see that little boy's face. Mercédes, if the tables had been turned, that could have been Victor."

"But it wasn't."

He pulled away from her. "I'm a monster."

"No. Gabriel Dejardin, I want you to look at me right now. Now." She waited until he did. "You are not a monster. You did your duty."

"But-"

"Listen! You did your duty. It is awful that those boys died. It is awful that France is in the state it's in. But you protected your country. And you are not a monster. It isn't your fault that there was a rebellion."

"Will anything ever be the same again?"

"No. But the whole point of life is that bad things happen, and what you choose to do when they happen is what defines you." She leaned in and kissed him, and then kissed the tears away from his cheeks. "I'm so happy and grateful that you've returned to us. And tomorrow is a new day."


End file.
